Clay Walker Cancels Arkansas Show Due To Side Effects From Multiple Sclerosis Treatment

Country music star Clay Walker has been forced to cancel his performance scheduled for tonight, Saturday, June 14, in Hot Springs, Arkansas due to side effects from a recent medical procedure. 

Walker, who has been living with Multiple Sclerosis (MS) since 1996, took to social media this afternoon to share the news with fans. 

“Dear friends & country music fans, I recently had a procedure that could really help my MS… unfortunately I’ve got some side effects that have left me unable to perform tonight at Timberwood Amphitheater in Hot Springs, Arkansas,” he wrote. 

The “She Won’t Be Lonely Long” singer explained that he pushed himself and had all intentions of performing, however, life had other plans. 

“I really tried my best to pull through for you all, which is why I waited until this morning to make this call. I look forward to returning to Arkansas soon, and I’m bummed to miss you all tonight. We will see everyone back out on the road soon,” he concluded. 

Several country artists, including Mark Wills, and George Birge shared well wishes with Walker within the comments section of his post.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Clay Walker (@claywalker)

According to the Mayo Clinic, Multiple sclerosis is “ a disease that causes breakdown of the protective covering of nerves. Multiple sclerosis can cause numbness, weakness, trouble walking, vision changes and other symptoms.”

Walker has been managing his MS symptoms in recent years, thanks to well-managed treatment and healthy habits.

During a 2022 interview with Country Now, the Texas native opened up about managing the disease and admitted that traveling was proving to the the “toughest part” but promised us, “I wouldn’t wanna do anything else.” 

While on the road, Walker makes sure he is prepared and makes it a priority each and every day. 

“We keep the bus stocked with things that we need to stay healthy,” he explained, referring to  the importance of nutrition. “We also keep what we call the T-Rex. It’s this apparatus that we hook to the outside of the trailers and we’ll do all kinds of stretches and pull ups and presses. It’s just a great versatile piece of equipment to stay in shape.”

While he experiences mostly good days, there have been times when he has experienced an “attack” which left him unable to “feel anything below my chest.” As one would imagine, this proved to be a “really tough” time for the singer. 

In recent years, he’s adjusted his medications and experienced significant improvement.

“I used to take a shot every day,” Walker revealed at the time. “I switched to a medication called Ocrevus, which was something that my doctor had recommended because of the reduced amount of attacks that they saw with the medication.” 

He told us this was a “great” option for him and a lot easier than having to take a shot every day. 

It’s unclear what procedure the “Dreaming With My Eyes Open” singer recently underwent, but we wish him the best in his recovery. 

Clay Walker’s next scheduled tour date is set for June 17 at the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville.